Thursday, January 31, 2019


OUTDOOR BUDDIES TERRYALL ICE FISHING TRIP

Saturday February 2
We will depart from Sams on 34 at 6AM probably stop at McDonalds for a snack.  We should get to the Res about 9AM. We should get back later in the day on Saturday. Our role will be to fish and help others with fishing so bring some fishing stuff.  Larry just bought a new ION 
auger we probably wont need to drill holes.  They will provide lunch, they have a house right next to the lake I assume Headquarters.  There are Northern Pike in the lake as well as trout.  

Those expressing interest at this point
    Dave Boyle 
    Tom Miller
    Norm Englebrech
    Keith Gentry
   John Guinup

   I am sure I have missed some. If you are interested please contact me at 970-218-3645 or emai at davnanboy@aol.com

One of the perks of this trip is to get to see their set up at the lake.  Larry has offered to let us use the house up there for one or more of our fishing trips.  Thinking maybe ice-out for Northerns???

Hope more of you can come!!!!

    Dave

Wednesday, January 23, 2019

Fly fishing talk at Jax Fort Collins Saturday


Pyramid Lake, World Record Cutthroat Trout
Join JAX in Fort Collins to learn all about fly fishing in the "Home of the World's Largest Cutthroat Trout" from the CEO of Pyramid Fly Co., Captain Robert Hagerty. "Capt Rob" is an expert fly fisherman with over 30 years of guiding and fly shop experience.
Learn everything you need to know to fish in Pyramid Lake, including:
  • History of Pyramid Lake in Reno Nevada, the "Home of the World's Largest Cutthroat Trout"
  • Unique facts about the Pilot Peak Cutthroat Trout
  • How to fly fish and the use of conventional gear at Pyramid Lake
  • How to travel to Pyramid Lake from Denver
The talk will be at JAX Outdoor Gear Fort Collins on Saturday, Jan 26th from 10am-12pm.

Wednesday, January 16, 2019

Bill wins Angler of the Year. Dan doesn't

Okay, Dan Barker, who won the 2017 contest, was a close second, with a thumping 27.5-inch walleye. That makes him runner-up in the Loveland Fishing Club's 2018 Angler of the Year.

Bill Prater's 24-inch cutbow, yanked from the frigid ice-out water of South Delaney Buttes, was 109 percent of the Colorado Parks and Wildlife Master Angler criteria for the species. Dan's was 3 1/2 inches longer, but that only added up to 107 percent of qualifying criteria. (In fairness, he did win in 2017 with a big largemouth. (In kind of a rut, though; that fish also came from Boyd).

Wayne Baranczyk finished in third place with the most unusual entry of 2018 a 12 1/2-inch grayling from Lake Joe Wright, taken during the club's annual trek to Ranger Lakes.

So the 2019 competition is underway!  Get your entries to Jim Roode; he's been tracking fish since the tourney began in 2014.
Bill's winning cutbow




Dan and walleye








Carter lake open water Thursday

Let’s get out there before the snow. Meet west of the boat ramp on the northeast corner of the lake at 9 a.m. If you take the road just west of the marina building you can drive right down to the lake. Some will be fishing the bottom with Powerbaits and such, or casting from shore. Wayne says he plans to bring his float tube, as he’s been known to do in the past. That boy’s tough.

Tuesday, January 15, 2019

A little background on our new vice president


Jim Baxter will serve a year as club Vice President, then assume the role as President in 2020. As he settles into the new role, here is a little background we might not learn on the water…

I was born in Los Angeles sometime during the last century. I grew up in Compton, CA, digging worms out of the Los Angeles River bed to be used for fishing in local parks for crappie and bluegill, and I haven’t eaten one since. I advanced to fishing for trout with my Boy Scout troop in the local mountains.
2019 LFC Vice President Jim Baxter

     After high school I expanded my fishing adventures as a member of the U.S. Army in Alaska during the Cold War. My fishing repertoire now included salmon from the Kenair River. Upon my return to civilization, I joined the Los Angeles Police Department where I excelled in riot control, professional handcuffing and advanced donut eating for the next 25 years.  During this time I landed more criminals than fish. 
     After retirement I became a motor officer working with various film studios in and around the Los Angeles area. I have a long list of movie stars that I met over the next 11 years, with my favorites being Hailie Berrie, Sean Connery, James Garmer and Woody Harrelson.  I could even be considered an actor as I got a non-speaking role in the movie Cellular. Even after becoming an actor I still found time to go fishing. Every summer we camped in the Mammoth Mountains and caught trout, and for several years returned to Alaska to fish for true cod, halibut and salmon.
     After my wife retired we moved to Fort Collins in October 2011, to be closer to our daughter and three granddaughters, and have never regretted the relocation. Fishing has a whole new prospective now as it is practically in my backyard and I have been introduced to ice fishing, not an activity in Southern California. I joined the Loveland Fishing Club in 2015, I think, (Being born in the last century has taken a toll on my memory.) I have made some great friends and thoroughly enjoy volunteering with the various fishing activities.

2019 Club Officers elected; Jim Visger is our new President


By unanimous vote, Jim Baxter Tuesday was named the club's vice president for 2019. He will serve a year under new President Jim Visger, our 2018 VP.
2019 President Jim Visger

Barbra Ding will continue as club Treasurer; Christine Weiss as Secretary and Norm Englebrecht as Member at Large.

Visger succeeds Dave Johnson, who received a rousing round of applause from membership at Tuesday's meeting for his service to the club. As immediate past president, he also serves as Parliamentarian.

Meeting times
  • Chilson Center, Loveland, 2 p.m. on the 3rd Tuesday of the month
  • Board meetings 9 a.m. on Monday before each general meeting
  • Friday breakfast, 7 a.m. Fridays, Perkins Restaurant, Loveland




2019 club leadership: top left Jim Baxter, Norm Englebrecht, Jim Visger,
Rick Palmieri, Jim Roode;
 front left Dave Johnson, John Gwinnup, Barbra Ding, Christine Weiss

Join us on Facebook ("Secret" page limited to club members)  Send a note to jimroode@yahoo.com
2018 Club Officers and other contacts:
President, Dave Johnson
Vice President, Jim Visger
Immediate Past President Fred Riehm
Treasurer, Barbra Ding
Secretary, Christine Weiss
Government Affairs chairperson, Jim Roode
Member at large, Norm Englebrecht
Friends of the Big Thompson, Walt Graul
Activities chair, Pat Mikulak
Program chair, Open
Kids Fishing Derby chair, Keith Gentry
Senior Derby Chair, Ray Park, Warren Wolf
Advertising/public relations, Tom Miller
Historian, Skip Kral
Banner Keeper, Dennis Kelsey
Raffle Chair, John Gwinnup

Webmaster, Rick Palmieri
Publicity, Editor, Bill Prater
Volunteers of America, Alan Jones
Inventory, Norm Englebrecht

Contact: Bill Prater, billjohnp@gmail.com; Rick Palmieri, scc9443553@gmail.com



Friday, January 11, 2019

Board meeting Monday, general meeting Tuesday


Don’t forget - board gets together at 9 a.m. on Monday before a general meeting. And this month’s general meeting is 2 p.m. Tuesday.

Now I MIGHT be starting an argument here...

By Bill Prater
(Bill is now writing as a Field Editor for http://fishexplorer.com

I wouldn’t normally rub Tom or Dave or Dan’s nose in it, but there is a fatal flaw or two behind an angler's determination to measure (or worse, to eat) whatever they catch:  
For one, when success is defined by size or taste, or limited by the statutes on legal harvest, you rule out meaningful pursuit of 75 or 80 percent of perfectly good prey in any particular body of water.

Also, when you troll for walleye in 30 feet of water with heavy gear, the best that can happen is you’ll catch an eating-size walleye or carp. Meanwhile I’m giggling like a newborn as I locate school after school of naive bluegill, or beds full of horny bass just under the legal limit. And though I don’t get after them as often as I’d like, there is nothing more satisfying than luring a tiny brook trout out of an honest to God brook.

My point here, and I do have one, is there is satisfaction in landing a one-pound smallmouth on 4-pound braid, if your success isn’t determined by an ability to dredge up a 4-pounder from the middle of the lake. And there are a lot more one-pound bass around here than 18-inch walleye. 

Don’t get me wrong. I enjoy the tug of a big one nearly as much as any other fishing fanatic. I prove that way too often by going to occasionally comical lengths to put myself in the vicinity of a monster. It’s just that I also find myself happy when testing how light I can go with my gear and still have a reasonable chance at winning a fish fight. When you find yourself pondering whether a 15-foot long fluorocarbon leader might reduce the stress on the knot connection to 4-pound Nanofil, you are well on your way to being an ultralight fanatic.
  
I would argue that when you absolutely must land and eat or at least measure your foe, you are likely to do everything possible to make sure he or she winds up in the boat or on the bank. (As much as I like watching bass pros at work on television, I flinch when they winch a big bass out of the water so fast the fish is practically flying. I understand the reasoning; you don’t want them to jump, and you want the fight over as quickly as possible. But that’s the exact opposite of why I pursue fishing as a sport and not a harvest. 

When your worst intention is to give your catch an unwanted kiss before release, you may be pilloried by fishing buddies, or PETA or the #MeToo movement. But you’re also just obsessing on how light your rig can get. (Here’s one free tip:  you can get away with a lot lighter gear in winter than summer).

There is a “fine line” to all this, of course; you really can hurt a fish by playing with it too long. And if you’re fishing water where monsters lurk, you don’t want to carry a pocket knife to a gunfight. You just have to remember not to cry in front of friends when a big one gets away through your own unfortunate gear choices. Fortunately for me, I fish way too much water where that’s not a typical problem. (Just got back from the Laramie Lakes in Wyoming. It appears any size gear would have worked as well as my spikes and 2-pound ice line.)
Anyone else annoying their friends by throwing fish back, or acquiring a growing collection of miniature fishing gear? 

Anyone else skunked lately?
      Author: Can

Sunday, January 6, 2019

Learning to fish like a kid again

By Bill Prater, now writes for Fish Explorer.com,  https://www.fishexplorer.com/co/blog.asp

Truth be told, I was a much better fisherman at age 11 than at 30 or 40. 

I wasn’t so much an adult on a downhill spiral as an adult distracted by grown-up responsibilities. As a long-time retiree, I have evolved beyond all those, if you catch my drift. As others in the Loveland Fishing Club can attest, over the course of 15 years or so I have regained many of the remarkable angling skills of my youth. I also regularly meet new club members who long to get back into fishing, but can’t quite remember how. It can be frustrating, but not demoralizing, if you go about things with a youthful, sporting attitude.

At 11, I had no idea what was supposed to attract fish, and my brother and I were limited to whatever questionable gear Mom and Dad made available. We were blessed with free time, though, and willing to try just about anything to trick a fish. I chose to use that invaluable free time to hop on a bicycle and go fish. As an equally eager grown up, just remember that you, too, have an enviable amount of free time. And hopefully, a more generous allowance. 

WHAT TO DO FIRST. First, invest the time and a little cash in multiple types of modern equipment. You will be amazed at the sensitivity and expense of modern rods, and the joy of casting the latest braided line. No. Wait. Forget the cash thing for the time being, and just borrow stuff, until you learn what you like. When I first joined the fishing club, a charter member loaned and eventually gave me everything I needed to get started in ice fishing. I have since passed along many a rod and reel and bait myself, and have other perfectly workable equipment gathering dust. (I once gave novice ice angler Dan a nice little sled to haul his gear. One chilly trip to the wind-blown Laramie Lakes and he was back polishing his bass boat). 

The point is, as our interests evolve, many of us have way too much serviceable but neglected stuff accumulating in the garage or basement. Ask if you can see it sometime, and then finagle a way to borrow some. (I personally bring along at least 3 or 4 ice fishing outfits on an outing, for example, and way too many jigs, just in case we have newbies. Or wind knots.)

With gear in hand, practice casting, and practice some more. Invest more time practicing to tie a variety of fishing knots. (This is probably one of the most bewildering changes in fishing from the basic knots of ‘50s and ‘60s. Even the clinch knot has been improved.)

Now, having done all this so you won’t totally embarrass yourself on the water, secure a buddy or two; skilled or novice, doesn’t matter. Explore possible fishing grounds in your area together, or ask someone if they’ll show you around. This is a great way to get a foot in the water. Old timers love lingering field trips and long-winded conversations. And we might wind up taking you fishing in the bargain. (If some old timers seem cliquish, it’s not deliberate neglect of newbies. We just enjoy one another’s familiar company, or at least grown accustomed to one another’s quirks. Just keep hanging around asking naïve, admiring questions about our fishing skills and preferences.)
After you’ve done all that, you’re ready to be 11 again and go fishing. (As you get older, you don’t even need to pretend as much). Here are some pointers:

Before puberty you faced few distractions from the opposite sex; don’t go getting distracted now.
When I was a lad, my equipment was pretty lousy. But I didn’t know that and neither did the fish. So don’t worry too much about outfitting yourself like a bass pro; your spouse will find you accumulating all that gear soon enough. Just fish. And remember, every species has its charms. 
Resist the temptation to find more hobbies in retirement; like golf, ferchrissakes, and remember, most boyfriends and girlfriends won’t make you a better angler. 
There is one more crucial thing retirees have in common with the prepubescent:  my own late Mom and Dad – and most responsible adults of that era -- had zero expectations of responsible behavior from their kids until about the time we started to date and drive. Similarly, loving spouses may quibble or even whine occasionally. But they don’t really expect grass to be mowed or laundry to be folded when spawning season is upon us. Think of that “honey do” list as a mere suggestion, meant to keep us out of the way.

One last bit of advice:  like my grown-up children today, I suspect Mom and Dad watched us heading for the nearest pond and wished their own lives weren’t so damned complicated. So put down the TV remote, cell phone or golf club, and just go fishing. 

First general meeting of 2019 set for 2 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 15

Set your 2019 calendars for the third Tuesday of each month, for the general club meeting at Chilson Center. We'll be electing officers for the year.

New members Dennis & Jeanne Carder, Terry & Linda Gibbons, John and Lou Gen Nuspl, Jim Kucera (returning), Sam Davis and Anthony & Dawn Mancina have been added to our distribution list for the club blog, http://lovelandfishingclub.blogspot.com.

Now, if I were Tom or maybe Norm, I'd be telling you that if you did not receive this notice, you should contact me to get added to the distribution list. But I'm not, so hopefully you've been added to the app that automatically forwards all blog postings to your e-mail. Welcome.

Friday, January 4, 2019

Let's head to Laramie Plains Lakes Wednesday!

Having conquered or at least visited some of the major lakes of the northern Colorado Rockies, the club is headed for the legendary prairie pothole Laramie Lakes next week in search of thumping big trout.

Norm Engelbrecht and Dave Boyle are leading the caravan north, leaving about 6:30 a.m. Wednesday for a day trip to the lakes just southwest of Laramie.

The wind can sometimes be more than ideal, but the reward for an occasional gust is the promise of some serious size trout.

We'll have our choice of several lakes, and we'll probably decide after a stop for out-of-state licenses at the West Laramie Fly Shop.

For details and to discuss carpool arrangements, contact Norm at 970-85-0566; or Dave by e-mail. Click here.

Wednesday, January 2, 2019

Norm's headed to Red Feather Thursday

We've got a second ice fishing excursion planned for Thursday:  Norm Engelbrecht and a family member or two are headed to Red Feather, expecting to hit the ice around 8:30. If you'd like to join them, drive up on your own and check the ice on the west side.

The Boyd Lake day trip is still set for about 9 a.m. Thursday in the Marina Inlet area.


Tuesday, January 1, 2019

Come fish with us Thursday at Boyd


Okay, the ice has been a bit dicey, but there have been folks out on the Marina Inlet and this New Year's freeze should firm things up nicely. And it's supposed to be balmy Thursday.

Let's meet around 9 a.m. on Thursday, Jan. 3 in the parking lot on the west side of the inlet; the lake has been open east of the boat ramp. 

There is a daily fee for acess. If you don't have an annual tag we can carpool over from my house about 9 a.m. It's 1915 Pikes Peak Drive. Click here to send me an e-mail so I'll know to expect you.